Color-meter.



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

p PATBNTB'D JULY 28,1908. P. E. Ivs.

rCoLoB. METER. APPLICATION FILED 001222, 1907.

No. 894,654. l

, l F. E. Ivs.

l COLOR METER.

APPLIoATIoN FILED 001322, 1907.

PATBNT-ED JULY 28, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FREDERIC E. 'IYES, Ol" WOODCLI FFE-01N -HUDSON, .N EW JERSEY.

COLOR-METER.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .my 28, 190s.

Application mea october 22, 1997. seria.; No. 398,544.

' To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that 1, FREDERIC E. Ives, a citizen .of the United States, residing in l/Voo(lclifl'eon-Huds0n, N ew Jersey, have nventcd a certain Improved ColorsMe'ter, of which the following'is a specification. A

The object of my invention is to provide a color meter whereby every color to be found in the arts and industries can be quickly and accurately matched, measured in terms of three definite spectrum hues, recorded by three numbers, and reproduced for. observation or matching at anytime by simply setting the instrument to the recorded numbers and directing it to a background of standard white. This object I'attain in the following manner, reference being had -to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view of a preferred form of color meter embodying my invention; Fig. 2is a planl view of the same; Fig. 3 is a front view; Fig. 4 is a view showing the relation to each other of certain parts of the instrument, and Figs. 5 and 6 are `views of a diagrammatic character, illustrating modifications of my invention. l

Referring in the iirst instance to'Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, 1 represents a box or casing mounted upon a suitable standard, preferably in such mannerthat it can be adj usted vertically and secured in any of its various positions of vertical adjustment. In the front of this box or casing are four apertures, three of which are juxtaposed and are provided` respectively, with red, green, and blue-violet color screens, indicated respectively, by thc/letters R, G, and B, in Fig. 3,4

the red representing the spectrum between Fraunhofer lines A and C, the green a narrow band over` b, and the blue-violet between F, 1/2 G and H. The fourth aperture W has no screen and is intended for the passage of clear light or of light rays passing through or reflected from the object whose color is to be matched. i

The three color screens R, G, and B should be such as to transmit exclusively, but with sufficient freedom, the re's ective colors to which they correspond. 'Iphese'screens are preferably made by dyeing gelatin films'on glass, the red by a combination of naphthol red and na hthol yellow, the green by a combination o naphthol green, naphthol' yellow and neptune green, and the blue-violet by a combination of deep cobalt blue and peacock blue, although good effects` are possible by the use of colored glasses 1n lace of dyed films Where suitable colored g asses are obtainable. An important feature of this part of my invention consists in preparing a 'green screen which limits the transmission of spectrum green rays to anarrow and sharp band about b in the spectrum without too much damping of the dominant ray. Green light of this hue and degree of urity is used in order that it may mix with t e pure red to match undegraded orange reds land yellows and yet mix with the blue-violet to match rich ,peacock blues. Heretofore, in order to meet this requirement, it has been necessary to resort to spectroscopic analysis, but I find that by a combination of the colors before mentioned I am enabled to produce a color screen which admirably answers its intended purpose.

Each of the color screen apertures is vprovided With a sliding shutter 3, whereby the area of such aperture may be varied at will, the shutters for the red and green screens being-suitably mounted on the front of the casing, so as to fit snugly thereto, and beingpushed outwardly by-a lsuitable spring or springs, such, for instance, as is represented at 4, and moved inwardly by means of a longitudinally guided wedge 5 mounted upon the projecting base of the box at one side of the same, each of these Wedges being preferablylprovided with a scale coperating with a fixed pointer 6 on the base, whereby the adjustment of-either of the shutters can be accurately noted and recorded. The shutter 3, coperating with the blue color screen, is carried by a laterally guided slide 7 on the top of the box, and is operated by a lever 9, coperating with'a scale 10, whereby said shutter can be conveniently adjusted by the observer at the eye piece 11 at the rear end of the box, knobs or handles 12 being provided upon the lever 9 and upon the wedge-carrying slides to facilitate movement of the same. If the rays of light'from these three color screens are caused to pass 'rapidly across the field of vision, theywill be mixed or blended by persistence of vision. Any desired means, either vibrating or rotating, may be employed, within the scope of my invention, in order to effect this result, a rotating vd evice being referred. I therefore mount upon a Arotatable shaft 13, within the box or casing lenses 15,- and within the circle of these lenses 'is ixedly mounted a convex Afield lens 16,

serves to deflect, into that part of the lens which it covers, the rays of light from ythe clear aperture W.

The, lens-carrying wheel or'disk 14 is mounted obliquelyin order that its lenses may be in the plane ofthe lens 16 when crossing in front of the same, andy below said plane' when crossing in the rear of the lens, whereby they will not interfere with the transmission of the rays of light from said lens 16 to the eye iece, this construction being adopted in or er to avoid the use of mirrors or prisms to deflect the rays from the lenses l5 to the lens 16, as would be necessary if the Wheelor disk 14 rotated about a yertical axis.

these colors will be evenlymixed or blended to the eye by lpersistence of vision, and, supposing that t e shutters of the three color ield lens 16 should show a clear white light corresponding with that. shown on the covered half of the lens to which the rays of light are transmitted from the clear aperture W, said rays being bent into the axis of the meter by the prism 20 and spread across their res ective portion of the field by the action o the moving lenses 15.

By varying the area of the aperturesof the different color screens ,these colors ma be mixed in different proportions, so as toproduce upon the fie d of vision any desired color or shade of color, vand hence the color of anyobject exhibited upon that half of the field correspondin to the clear aperture W L may beimatched a suitable .adjustment of the shutters of the color screens, the adjustment of each shutter, and theconsequent proportion of each color in the mixture, bemg 'indicated by the respective scales, whereby an accurate record of the mixture can be preserved and such mixture re ro-f duced at any desired time by a correspon ing adjustment of the three shutters.

l is mounted a fofilled Where theobject Whosefcolor is to be matched is trans arent the light may pass through the' same efore lassing through the aperture W, and Where t e ob]ect is opaque it may be exposed in irontoi` said aperture, a suitable lens (see Fig. 5) being em loyed in order to form in the respective ha of the ield an image of such object, which is seen at the'eye'piece aperture 21 as if in a telescope.

' It is therefore only necessary lto project an image of any colored .object into its respective half of Ythe field of the color meter in order to match its color in the rother-half of the ield by so adjusting the shutters of the three color screens that the color in both halves of the field ap ears alike.

ssuming that the ight which reaches the color screens is ordinary white light of the samefquality that illuminates the colored Y object, ,the white formed b the admixture of the red, blue, and green co ors should exactly match 'that coming through the clear. aperture-W. Ii they are not alike they 'can be made so by altering the absolute or relative size of the color screen apertures, equalization of luminosity being conveniently effected by means of a sliding shutter 22, suitably mounted on the front of the box and carried bya spring arm 23, which can be adjusted by means of a thumb nut 24 on a bolt- 25 passing through said spring arm, as shown in Fig. 2. In that modification of my invention shown in Fig. 5,1 use, in place of the rotating lens Wheel, a rotating glass cube 26, havin vertical sides and mounted upon a verticail axis in the rear of the color screens. When this cube is revolved with suiiicientA rapidity the ei'ect is to spread the colors across the line of vision, and produce a stri White in screens are set at the 100 points of thelr respective scales, theuncovered portion ofthe the middle and tinted with color at oth ends, and, by taking as the source of light for illuminating the ield of the .color meter that plart of the strip which appearswhite, the

eld can be changed to any color whatever by suitably varying the areas of the apertures of the color screens, and a percentage measurement of these apertures will give a record. An objection to this particular optical mixing device is that the speed of movement of the color bands across the iield varies with the distance laterally from the optical center, necessitating the usev of differential scales to indicate true numerical -values.

In connection with the revolving cube 26 I employ a concave lens 27, which serves to make the-mixture ojf colors alike in all parts of the field, and I lace in front of the field.

v894,664: v I

the 'imaigeformng lens 33, and reflecting them onto the mirror 31, which, inturn, reflects them through a portion of the collectin lens 2-9 and field lens 16.

in that modification of my' .invention shown in Fig. 6, the color screens R, B., and G are shown as sectors, whose area can be varied by ad'ustment 'of sector-.shaped shutv ters 34, the ight passing.through the color screens being receiver-l upon and reflected by a pair of mirrors, prisms, or other reflectors, 35 and 36, mounted so is to roaeabout an l axis concentric with `the center of the mirror 36, whereby the mirror .35 will receive, `successively, rays of light from thered, blue, and green screens, and will reflect these rays onto the mirror 36, which in turn .reflect-s,

anis'm is employed. C

In order to ermit'ready access to the lenses 15, 16 ang 17 and the prism 20 of the instrumen'. shown in Fig. 1, the casing4 1 is made in two parts, the top of the rear, portion overlapping .that of the front portion and being hinged thereto, as shown at 40 -in Figs. 1 and 2, the rear section of the case being open at thebottom 'so that it can be tating wheel 14 and its lenses, ready access to the lenses 16 and 17 and prism 20 being also possible when the rear section ofthe case is thus raised. In order to permit of this movement of the rear portion of the casing Without interference therewith by the lever 9, the latter is also made intWo arts, hinged ltogether as at 41, in'Figs. 1 an( 2. L I claim Y 1. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a ight-transmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, and means forv causing the rays of light from these screens to pass in rapid succession across the axis of vision.

2. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, and a rotating .device for causing the rays. of light from these screens to pass in rapid succession i aerossthe'axis of vision.

l' 3. A color meter having three stationary g5 colorscreens, means providing a light-trans ing t-hc area of saidaperture, means for causswung upward in order "co uncover the ro-` lfield of vision.

. pass.

Inittinga erture'for each screen, means for varying t e area of said aperture, and .means forcausing thegrays of lightfrom said screens to pass inirapid@successioni-across the axis of vision.- jv

4, A color meter having three stationary color screensmeans providing a light-transmitting aperture for cach screen, means for varying t e-are'a of said aperture, and a rotating'optical device for causing the rays of light from said screens to pass 1n rapid succession across the axis of' vision.

5. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transmittingaperture foreach screen, means for varying the yarea of said aperture, means for causing the rays of light from said color screens to pass in rapid succession across the field of vision,l and means for projecting uncolored light rays over a portion ofl said field of Vision.

6. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the rays of light from said color screens to .pass in rapid succession across the field of vision, means for projecting uncolored light rays over a portion of said field of vision, and means for varying the area' of. the aperture 95 through which said uncolorcd rays pass.

7. A color meter having three color `screensmeans providing a light-transmiting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, means for causing the rays of light from said color screens to pass in rapid succession across the field of vision, and means for projecting rays of light from -an exposed object onto a portion of said 8. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transinitting aperture for each screen, means for vary- 'ing the area of said aperture, a rotating optical device for causing the rays of light from said color screens to pass in rapid succession across the field of vision, and means for directing uncolored rays of light onto a portion of said field.

9. A color meter having three color 1 15 screens, means providing a light-transmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, a rotating op- .'tical device for causing the rays of light from said color screens to pass in rapid succession across the field of vision', means for directing ,uncolored rays of light onto a portion of said field, .andmeans for varying the area of the aperture through which said uncolored rays 10. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a' light-transmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, a rotating optical vdevice for causing the rays of light from said col fr screens to `pass in 'rapid succession across t ie field of vision, and means for di-- recting rays of li ht from an exposed object onto a portion o said field.

11. A color meter having three colorl optical device for causing the rays of light from said color screens to pass in rapid succession across the axis of vision, a convex field lens, and an Ieye aperture, `disposed in the order named.

13. A color meter having, in combination', three color screens, means providingia lighttransmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, aseries of juxtaposed lenses, and means for moving the latter successively across the rays of light from said color screens.

14. A color meter having, in combination,

three color screens, means providing a lighttransmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, a series of juxtaposed lenses, and a rotating carrier whereby said lenses are caused to ass successively across the rays of light om the color screens.

15. A color meter having, in combination, three color screens, means providing a light- 'transmitting aperture for each screen,l means for varying the area of said aperture, a series of juxtaposed lenses, a rotatable carrier whereby said lenses lare successively carried across the rays of light from -said color screens, and a lield lens interposed between said lenses and the eye aperture.

16. A color meter having three color` screens, means providing a light-transmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, a rotating optlcal device for causing the rays of light from said screens to pass in rapid succession across the axis of vision, a convex ield lens, a focusing lens, and an eye aperture, disposed in the order named.

17 A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transmitvting'aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, a series of juxtaposed lenses, a rotatable carrier for causing said lenses to pass in succession across the rays of `light from said color i screens, and field and focusing lenses interposed between said rotating lenses and the eye aperture.

18'. A color meter.having I three color screelns, means providing a light-transmitting aperture `for each screen, means jfor varying the area of said a erture, a series 'of juxtaposed lenses, a fiel lens, and a rotatable carrier for said juxtaposed lenses ting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, a series of juxtaposed lenses, a rotatable carrier therefor, and a casing having a portion u on which said carrier is mounted and anot 1er portion mounted upon the first so as to be movable into position to expose said carrier and its lenses.

21. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transmitting aperture for each screen, means for varying the area of said aperture, a series of juxtaposed lenses, a rotatable carrler therefor, a field lens, and a caslng having one portion upon which said carrier is mounted and another portion carrying said field lens and movable in respect to the first so as to expose said field lens and the lenses which are mounted upon the rotatable carrier.

22. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transmitting aperture for each of said screens, shutters for varying the area of said apertures, and means, eac including a scale and pointer, for adjusting said shutters.

23. A color meter having three color screens, means providinga light-transmitting aperture for each of said screens, shutters for varying the area of said apertures, and means, including wedge slides, for effecting adjustment of certain of said shutters.

24. A color meter having three color screens, means providing a light-transmitting aperture for each of said screens, shutters for varying the area of said apertures, a casing carrying said screens, wedge slides at opposite sides of said casing for adjusting certain of said shutters, and alever on top of the casing for adjusting one oi said shutters.

25. A Vcolor meter having three color screens, means providing alight-transmitting aperture for each of said screens, a shutter for varying the area of -the aperture of one of said screens, a casing carrying said screens and a rotating optical device for mixing the rays of light therefrom, said casing comprising two parts pivoted together, and a lever on top of the casing for adjusting said shutter, said lever also having two parts pivoted together.

26. A color meter having acasing provided with three color screens, means providing a 5 light-transmitting aperture for each screen,

means for varying the area of said aperture,

, a series of juxtaposed lenses, a, rotatable carrier therefor, and an electric motor mounted upon the casing and having an armature shaft to which said carrier is secured. i

27. A color meter having red, blue, and green color screens, the green screen having a color composition vwhich limits the transmission of spectrum green rays to a narrow band about b in the spectrum.

28. A color meter having red, blue, `and green color screens, the green screen being a combination of naphthol green, naphthol yellow and neptune green.

29. .A color meter having red, blue and vgreen color screens, the red screen having a Fraunhofer lines A and C, the blue screen` having a color composition which limits the transmission of spectrum rays to a band between F, G and H, and the green screen having a color compositionwhich limits the transmission of spectrum rays to a narrow band over b.

In testimony whereof, I Ahave signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIC E. IVES.

Witnesses:

'HAMILTON D. TURNER, KATE A. BEADLE. 

